Field of the Invention
This invention is in the field of buckles, and particularly those buckles used in vehicle restraint systems for securing straps together.
Description of the Prior Art
A variety of buckles have been designed having movable pawls to releasably lock to a mating tongue thereby joining straps together attached to a buckle and tongue. For example, the commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,283,933 discloses a buckle having a lower housing containing an upwardly biased pawl to lockingly engage a tongue inserted into the mouth of the buckle. A push button is slidable within an upper housing attached to the lower housing and is movable to force the pawl apart from the tongue releasing the buckle and tongue. Different embodiments of such a buckle and tongue are disclosed in the aforementioned patent and also in the commonly owned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,182,837, 5,142,748, 5,038,446, 5,023,981, and 4,692,970.
It is desirable to provide a buckle which requires two actions to disengage the tongue or tongues from the buckle. Disclosed herein is a buckle having a cover or a lock which extends over the push button thereby necessitating movement of the cover relative to the button prior to the button being depressed to disengage the tongue from the buckle. In one embodiment, the cover extends entirely over the button whereas in the second embodiment the cover extends partially over and beneath the button.